Mozzarella

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT MOZZARELLA - PAGE 2

Happy National Pizza With the Works Except Anchovies Day, everybody! What? You didn't get us anything? That's OK, we kind of doubt that today's dubious food "holiday" will be enough for you to get off work. Still, it's a good excuse to check out new West Town spot Buongiorno Cafe. Try the individual-sized capricciosa, topped with mozzarella, prosciutto, capers, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and Kalamata olives ($10), or really indulge with a panzerotti, a giant pizza puff stuffed with the same goodies ($9)

Someone should write a "Mozzarella and Tomato Salad" cookbook, since there seem to be enough variations on this theme to fill a sizeable tome. The popularity of this salad has increased noticeably, perhaps because it is both delicious and so easy to prepare. Often, though, the salad seems to lack flavor. The tomatoes can be nearly devoid of taste, and mozzarella can be bland or nondescript. Sometimes, when "fresh" mozzarella is promised, the cheese is slightly sour and well over the hill.

Makers of Italy's prized buffalo mozzarella took out ads in Italian newspapers Friday assuring consumers the cheese is safe after high levels of dioxin were found in some samples. Authorities have searched dozens of buffalo dairies and seized milk samples for tests after higher-than-permitted levels of dioxin were found in products from 29 makers. ---------- Page compiled from Tribune news services.

Prices of canned salmon are up this spring because last season's catch was smaller than average. But you don`t have to pass up the rich flavor of this lenten favorite; this lasagna contains cheese, stretching the fish so it serves six to eight hungry diners. Total microwave cooking time is about 35 minutes and you don`t have to cook the noodles first. SALMON SPINACH LASAGNA Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 35 minutes Yield: 8 servings 1 can (7 1/2 ounces)

Try it: Burrata is another one of those "B" words you hear and think: "I'm pretty sure I don't like that stuff." (Think bottarga or bacala.) But this you should try. The creamy centered relative of mozzarella, which was allegedly invented to avoid wasting curds, is traditionally made by shaping mozzarella into a pouch, filling it with stracciatella (which is essentially cream and threads of semiformed mozzarella), then wrapping it in asfodelo (a kind of leek) leaves. Use it: The best thing to do with burrata is also the easiest: Just eat it. It's at once bracingly fresh and slightly tangy while also full of intense cream flavor.

Like most dedicated American cooks, I have integrated Northern Italian cooking into my repertory. But there are times one hankers for Mom's spaghetti and meatballs, the kind of Italian-American cooking on which many of us were at least partially weaned. A stalwart part of that repertory is baked ziti, basically a short-cut lasagna, with fewer ingredients and less hassle. You make a tomato sauce, toss it with mostly cooked pasta and a load of mozzarella, and bake it. A staple of potluck dinners, a pound of pasta treated this way will serve at least six people.

An abundance of leftovers from a weekend dinner party led to this pasta dish on a Monday. It came out well enough to scribble down the steps and save the recipe for the future. Some leftover chicken breast and the sauce it was cooked in started things off. Shredding the meat lends a more pleasant texture than cubing. The recipe calls for broth instead of the sauce. Tips Use the time while the water boils to assemble and chop ingredients. Edamame, soybeans, can be purchased fresh or frozen in supermarkets.

Flatbreads are doughy chameleons with an infinite variety of toppings to alter their texture and character. Among the most unusual and simple of these breads-which sometimes are called pizzas or focaccias-is one made from a dough flavored with sun-dried tomatoes and topped with grated smoked mozzarella cheese, black olives and basil. The dough is mixed and thoroughly kneaded in the food processor before being put aside to rise at room temperature, or given an overnight rise in the refrigerator.